A mysterious letter alluding to a secret in her parents’ past brings Genevieve Woodward back to her Blue Ridge Mountains hometown, but she’s also in need of a break from a high-profile career that has left her dangerously burned out and concealing a powerful secret of her own. When she wakes inside an unfamiliar cottage to find the confused owner staring down at her, she can no longer ignore the … the fact that she needs help.
Sam Turner has embraced his sorrow and his identity as an outsider. The solitary, disciplined life he lives on his historic farm is the life he’s chosen for himself. The last thing he wants is to rent his cottage to a woman as troubled as she is talkative. Yet, he can’t force himself to turn her away right when she needs him most.
As Genevieve researches her family’s history and her and Sam’s emotions deepen, they will have to let go of the facades and loneliness they’ve clung to and allow light to illuminate every hidden truth.
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Becky Wade is one author I make a point to NEVER miss one of her books. Time and again she delivers a story that is more than a light romance. There are layers and complexities to her irresistible writing style that insure you will not be able to put her books down. And such is definitely the case in her newest book Stay With Me.
In this book, we truly have it all. A sense of mystery, a battle to overcome drug addiction, relational struggles of transparency and identity, and a tender romance. Witty dialogue, pacing perfection, and ever deepening story development hallmark this tale. I am thrilled this is only the first book in the series, because these are characters I most certainly want to see again.
I highly recommend this book and all of Wade’s novels. I guarantee she will soon become a favorite of yours!
I received this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
My heart leaped, I felt intense happiness, pain and relief, all in this mind-blowing book.
I read and felt it all in this book; unconditionally love, deep forgiveness, the joy and beauty of family, the pain and betrayal of addiction and the joy, forgiveness, freedom and relief found only in God.
In this book Becky Wade changed the narrative for Christian fiction to me. She has spoilt me in such a way I would never read any book the same. The characters were real and palpable, human and flawed but loved by God and those around them. The plot was mind-blowing, captivating, educative and engaging. I don’t reread books but this is one I would reread again.
I received a copy of this book and this is my honest opinion.
The best way to describe Stay With Me is to say it’s a gloriously, lovely book. I have read all of Becky Wade’s books, but I can say this is one of her best if not the best. I refrain from saying it is the best because I still think My Stubborn Heart and True to You are two of the best books ever written in the Christian Romance genre, so I am going to put Stay With Me in a three-way tie. Wade has created these beautiful rich characters in her latest that will stay with you for a long time. I laughed out loud throughout, totally enjoyed the little mystery in the story, and fell in love with Sam Turner. At the end of the book, I literally wept, not because it was sad, but because it was such a beautiful story. Gracious, I still get a little choked up just thinking about it. There aren’t enough stars for this book. It is absolutely fantastic. I received and ARC, but have ordered the book for my personal library.
Stunningly beautiful. Heartwarming. Romantic. Richly inspired with God’s grace, love, and forgiveness.
Stay With Me was so beautifully written and the characters were deep and inspiring. The issues were very real and even heart wrenching at times, and yet so filled with God’s redeeming love and hope. There were multiple storylines that might seem distracting at times, but this really set up the series. Wade shines with this contemporary romance in the midst of real life struggles and a great mystery, too.
“The woman who’d slept in his guesthouse like Goldilocks had frightening power over him.” I love Sam and his view of Genevieve. He’s this strong, quiet, and yet determined man with a heart of gold. He has held his heart close, not allowing anyone in. However, Genevieve just seems to be crumbling his reserves. She brings a color and vitality to a world he didn’t realize lacked luster. I think he may have just knocked out the Porter boys as my favorite hero in a Wade story, and that’s tough competition. Of course, his Aussie bearing and accent may have had a little to do with that.
“The kiss tasted like destiny . . . as if she’d been waiting, without knowing she’d been waiting. For him. For this. It felt more right than anything had felt in forever and a day.” Genevieve has been so busy and stressed for so long that she doesn’t know how to deal with it. She doesn’t understand why she can’t hear God’s voice, which is so important as a Bible teacher and leader. However, as her own secrets and family mysteries are revealed, she has tough choices to make. In the midst of it all, Sam becomes a lifeline for her.
“Why was it so hard for Christians to come clean to one another about the sins that had them by their throats? Because of pride? Because every Christian wanted every other Christian to think they were doing it right? That they were strong and good? If so, that was idiotic.”
Honestly, I wish I could shout this message from the roof tops! Our world would be such a better place if we as Christians truly accepted and gave forgiveness. Showing compassion and love is key to our faith, and yet we struggle with true authenticity. This is often because of our own fear of acceptance and judgement from others. I thought Wade did an amazing job sharing this authenticity and compassion through others in the midst of hardships. In a nutshell, that is the crux of the message of “Stay With Me.” Accepting one another with all our faults, sins, and frailties. Loving one another through the good and bad. Focusing on one another’s positives and gifts and truly seeing one another as Jesus sees us.
If you want divinely inspired, the love story between Sam and Genevieve made it truly captivating. There was such depth and devotion in their growing love. And wow, Sam, what an amazing leading hero to Gen’s bubbly, outgoing personality. He is a true heartthrob and I loved all the references to him being an Australia-American. A big heart, but caution in showing it. He’s very authentic down to earth and yearning for something he doesn’t yet realize. He would give the shirt off his back and yet, has a hard time with relationships. Gen is like color and sunshine wrapping around him and yet letting his fears go is difficult. Gen has so much to give, but is burning out, stressed and making choices that just make it worse. The romance and electricity between them will have you begging for their happy ending. Another contemporary romance must read from Becky Wade.
I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley by the publisher. All opinions in this review are given honestly.
I don’t want to spoil Genevieve’s secret for you. But let me say, her struggle is something we can all relate with. Trying to act perfect is exhausting, and sometimes we need to be reminded that we are human and make mistakes. That’s what makes God’s grace so amazing. Most of all, it’s what makes His grace so freeing.
Wade weaves this lesson through both Genevieve and Sam’s struggles. And those struggles made me identify with the characters and root for them even more. I didn’t always agree with the decisions the characters made, or even their conclusions, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this novel.
Now let me talk about the setting for a moment. I have been so excited about Becky Wade’s newest release ever since I heard it would be based in the North Georgia Mountains. As a North Georgia native, seeing my home mentioned in a book is always exciting. Stay with Me is set in Rabun County, which is right next to my county, Habersham. And the mention of Habersham, seeing it in print, may have made me a little too giddy. But I think Wade did a great job of highlighting the beauty of the mountains and the charm of small-town life.
I also love how she incorporated the story of the Miracle Five throughout the novel. Wade intersperses bits and pieces of flashbacks from the perspective of all five children, and she does this in a way that it highlights the main story. I don’t even know how to explain the way she does it and the impact it has on the story as a whole. All I can say is that it’s phenomenal and you’d have to read the novel and see for yourself.
Overall, Stay with Me provides a heartwarming romance mixed in with a timeless spiritual lesson. The perfect read for a cozy afternoon, this novel will keep you engaged as you experience the ups and downs with the main characters.